Talking community renewables....

Randwick woods on Saturday

Denmark went from 90% dependence on imports to 28% renewables by 2009. Most energy is generated by co-operative windfarms. Why can't we do that? Well that was part of a discussion last week looking at community renewables - a workshop at Stroud District Council organised by Transition Stroud.
Cllr Simon Pickering chaired the meeting which kicked off with presentations by Cllr Molly Scott Cato at 'Economic Models of Community Renewables' then Anna Bonallack on her project with schools and young people, 'YES'. These were followed by presentations from suppliers of renewable energy;

1. CRCUK; Jeremy Hand
2. Ecodyanamics; Martin Large
3. Gloucester Energy Coop; Alison Crane
4. The Resilience centre; Andrew Clarke

This led to discussions looking at:

 ·       What their funding model is for renewable energy provision, which technologies they provide
·       What their track record is
·       How the value generated is shared between the initiators, investors and the wider community
·       What capacity they have to deliver
·       What they need to make things happen

It was an interesting evening with some steps to take forward but there remain some considerable obstacles to developing projects - they need loads of energy and commitment. Let's hope this initiative will lead to some more local projects.....